CZ P-09 Part 3 of 3

As with any semi-automatic firearm there is a balancing act that must occur, choosing between the utmost in performance or reliability with many ammunition brands. I use a single load for all my 9mm usage, and the round is a 147 gr. bullet at about 130 powerfactor. For those unaware powerfactor is a measurement created in USPSA to measure ammunition power. Powerfactor is the weight of the bullet in grains multiplied by its velocity divided by 1000. 130 powerfactor with a 147 gr. bullet moves around 884 feet per second, well below the speed of sound. At this powerfactor I know I can run a fairly light recoil spring without any reliability problems. The other benefit of tailoring the recoil spring is that the slides cycling velocity can be controlled. With a high power load and a strong recoil spring, the slide will retract quickly and then just as quickly slam forward. This slamming forward causes the nose of the pistol to dip during firing, meaning that it takes longer to get your sights back on target. With the low powered rounds and an 11# recoil spring I have a slower slide return cycle, and were talking a few extra milliseconds which is hardly even noticeable, but the slide closes with less force making for a small dip in the nose of the pistol. With this combination I was able to get fast sight acquisition even at faster spilt times. I do want to note that I have several recoil springs for the standard CZ 75. The CZ P-09 comes standard with a flat wound recoil spring like a Glock, and it is a captured recoil spring meaning that that spring and recoil spring comes out of the pistol in a single assembly. I am not a huge fan of this type of configuration and to utilize standard CZ 75 springs, I also installed a CGW stainless steel guide rod.

The next change I made for the pistol was to remove the standard sights with some nice aftermarket Competition Sights, also from CGW. The sight sets includes a nice fiber optic front which is narrow than the OEM front sight and the rear is a classic all black blade. After installation I was very pleased with the change. Sights are a highly personal choice on the pistol, and the OEM sights had no problems, I just prefer competition style sights. Some last changes I made were some feature changes for better grip including a stippled black backstrap and some skateboard tape on the other faces of the grip. It is abrasive on the hands but helps maintain grip when trying to shot fast and accurately, especially on a hot day and my hands are sweating a bunch.

In the end, I spent a total of about $175 dollars in upgrades. The springs alone which gave the most performance improvements though only totaled about $70 dollars and that figure includes $25 for the stainless steel guide rod. With all the changes the pistol seems like a whole different gun, one that should cost much more than the $764 invested into it. I found that I was faster on standard drills than with the stock pistol and I feel a greater appreciation for the pistol after learning more about its inner workings. This greater knowledge will also aid if any mechanical issues come up in the future. In total I put another 250 rounds through the pistol in addition to the original 250 from part 1. In that 250 after the upgrades, about half of that was at a local USPSA match.

My final thoughts on the CZ P-09 is that it is a great pistol with tons of potential. I only installed a small number of the upgrades possible. In researching other improvements, I found some better internals to improve the trigger pull further as well as magwells and increased capacity magazine base pads in addition to enlarged magazine releases, and triggers with adjustment screws. The CZ P-09 can run out of the box but with a little bit of work it can run with the top dogs as well.

At Oakland Tactical, we carry many quality hard use handguns including the CZ P-09 FDE in 9mm. We can also provide guidance for the aftermarket parts to reach your goals for any firearm. Make sure to check our website often as our inventory is always changes.

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